It was an all-England tie, which meant that there was no need to make any unflattering comparisons between the culture of one European country and another. One club of England could look very good, and Harlequins did. And one could look well beaten, as Gloucester were, without being made to look horrible.

Far from it. Gloucester played with invention and spirit to the very end, even when the contest was long over. The products of their academy will one day soon be very good, from Freddie Burns to Henry Trinder to Charlie Sharples. But not on this day.

They ran into a side high on confidence and compact of defence. Tight of bind and mean of attitude on the road. The visitors were in the mood to absorb and counter, rather than try to be too glamorous, and seemed to enjoy every second of being hard-headed in a part of the world where they were once viewed as perhaps more frail of spirit and body.

When it came to the statistic of the season so far in England, Harlequins' 11 victories from 11 games spoke for themselves – and of a lasting durability. It was not long – five minutes, no more – before the confidence and efficiency of the away team were on display. George Robson won a lineout, the tight forwards closed around him and Nick Easter, liberated from whatever England expect from their No8 – drove out of the maul.

It provided the impetus that ended with Mike Brown, fast turning into a prolific full-back, scoring on the other side of the field. Nick Evans added the simple conversion and the warning was issued. Harlequins were looking for their 12th win.

Gloucester had Lesley Vainikolo as their runner unafraid of contact. Poor old Matt Hopper was the centre most often in his way, although it required a tackle by the even smaller Evans to stop the wing in the corner. Gloucester might have scored from the ensuing lineout but Akapusi Qera, who is about as good as you will see in Europe this year, did his best to defy that last bit by dropping the ball over the line.

Burns did close the gap with his first penalty, but Evans rebuilt it to seven with a kick after large Lesley was penalised at the breakdown. James Johnston, brother of Census of Toulouse and Samoa, was then penalised for a high tackle on Mike Tindall, another who seemed to have put all his recent travails behind him. The centre was involved and even delicate, putting his midfield partner, Trinder, into space with a sweet, soft, short pass. Wonders never cease.

Unfortunately for the home side, their gathering storm was interrupted when Hopper slid under Vainikolo – it made a difference from what had been happening earlier – and wriggled free of Qera, long enough to dab the ball against the goalline. When Evans added a second penalty immediately after the restart it looked as if all the Gloucester promise might have evaporated. They trailed by 12 points and some of the distribution from Rory Lawson and Burns was becoming a little ragged.

Then, however, Tindall turned an unpromising counterattack into an outside break and pass of elegance, and Gloucester set up camp in the 22, their cause helped by the disappearance of Maurie Fa'asavalu into the bin and a third penalty by Burns for the flanker's strange offence. Fa'asavalu was binned for thumping Qera into the turf hard, but from no great height at all, and only as a second tackle. Honestly, rugby union is growing a touch delicate about what it thinks is a dangerous tackle.

There was nothing wrong with the tackle made by prop Joe Marler on Trinder as the centre crossed the line. It was brilliant and kept the margin at nine points, just in time for Fa'asavalu to come back on. No sooner had he reappeared than the lead grew again, Evans landing his third penalty for a high tackle. The decision was fair and the lead was back to 12 points.

From the efficiency of their first half, the visitors were now intent on making a mess of the game. And very well it was working, too, until they edged forward an inch too far at a ruck and Gloucester put them back in their own 22. They had to score here, but Darren Dawidiuk threw in crookedly. Three times Gloucester had taken penalties quickly or gone for a lineout in the corner, and three times they had come away empty-handed.

There was still time to score twice, but suddenly the unlikely prospect of Easter on a 20-yard dash for the line became reality. Evans added the extras and it was all over. The woes of the home team were compounded when Qera, having broken clean through, passed into the hands of the foe. Easter, on the other hand, celebrated his freedom by setting off up the touchline again and almost revealed a side-step. As acts of rehabilitation go, this was emphatic. Twelve out of 12 for Harlequins and promise squashed for Gloucester.